Principal Traditional Owner Participation

Rio Tinto; Perth; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private health benefits

Relocation support

Annual incentive program

Employer contributions to superann

Professional development

Employee discounts

Job summary

Rio Tinto is seeking a Principal Traditional Owner Participation in Perth, WA to drive agreement-making commitments with Traditional Owner groups. You will monitor employment and development commitments, coordinate cross-functional delivery, and support economic opportunities with Traditional Owners while ensuring alignment with governance and safety standards.

This permanent role offers an opportunity to influence Indigenous participation at scale, liaise with multiple internal teams, and

Qualifications

• Experience in Indigenous employment, training, business development, government relations or related field.
• Working knowledge of Native Title and agreement-making frameworks.
• Experience negotiating, drafting or implementing agreements.
• Commercial, procurement or business development capability in complex settings.

Responsibilities

• Monitor employment and business development commitments, metrics and delivery risks.
• Draft and support employment, skills and business development commitments with Traditional Owners.
• Identify economic development opportunities with Traditional Owners and connect subject matter experts.
• Coordinate cross-functional delivery across People, Procurement, Commercial, Capability Development, Renewables, Environment, Land Access and operations.
• Act as a central contact for Rio Tinto teams interfacing with Traditional Owners, ensuring a consistent approach.
• Support contractual arrangements for services to enable business opportunities.
• Respond to escalations, grievances and concerns about commitments.
• Engage Traditional Owners on jobs, skills and enterprise development while guiding internal teams on cultural context.

Skills

Indigenous employment

Stakeholder engagement

Negotiation

Agreement drafting

Commercial/procurement

Cross-functional coordination

Communication

Cultural competency

Job description

We're Finding Better WaysTM to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values - care, courage and curiosity - guide how we work and how we treat each other.

About The Role

We are looking for a Principal Traditional Owner Participation to help the Agreement Making team progress commitments and obligations made to Traditional Owner groups through agreement-making processes and established agreements. Reporting to the Manager Agreement Making, you will act as a key interface between the Traditional Owner Partnerships team, Traditional Owner groups and the Rio Tinto functions responsible for delivering commitments.

What You'll Be Doing

• Monitoring employment and business development commitments, associated metrics and delivery risks, and taking action where progress is off track.
• Developing and supporting the drafting of employment, skills and business development agreement commitments with Traditional Owners.
• Partnering with Traditional Owner groups and Prescribed Bodies Corporate to identify economic development opportunities and connect relevant subject matter expertise.
• Coordinating cross-functional delivery across People, Procurement, Commercial, Capability Development, Renewables, Environment, Land Access and operational teams.
• Acting as a central point of contact for Rio Tinto teams that interface with Traditional Owner groups, helping provide a consistent and integrated approach.
• Supporting contractual arrangements for specialist services that assist Traditional Owner organisations to develop and execute business opportunities.
• Responding to escalations, grievances and concerns relating to employment, procurement and business development commitments.
• Engaging Traditional Owners on aspirations for jobs, skills and enterprise development, while helping internal teams understand commitments and relevant cultural context.

About You

We're looking for someone whose experience aligns with the key requirements below. You do not need to meet every "helpful for success" item to apply.

Required For Success

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team.
• Demonstrated experience in Indigenous employment, training, business development, government relations, Indigenous affairs or a closely related field.
• Working knowledge of Native Title, agreement-making frameworks and the delivery of commitments with Traditional Owner groups.
• Experience negotiating, drafting or implementing agreements and influencing stakeholders across complex organisational settings.
• Commercial, procurement or business development capability, including experience supporting opportunities from concept through to delivery.
• Strong written and verbal communication, cultural competency and the ability to coordinate across multiple internal and external stakeholder groups.

Helpful for Success

• Experience working directly with Prescribed Bodies Corporate, Traditional Owner businesses or community organisations.
• Knowledge of employment and supplier development programs within mining, resources, government or another large operational environment.
• Experience using performance measures, reporting and risk controls to monitor delivery of agreement commitments.

What We Offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you've helped the world progress.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority.
• A permanent position working directly for Rio Tinto.
• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with an annual incentive program.
• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family.
• An attractive share ownership plan.
• Company-provided insurance cover.
• Extensive salary sacrifice and salary packaging options.
• Career development and education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions.
• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support.
• Leave for all of life's reasons, including annual, paid parental, personal and cultural leave.
• Exclusive employee discounts across banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more.
• Possible domestic relocation assistance.

Where you'll be working

Our modern office located in Central Park tower in Perth provides an inspiring environment for collaboration and professional growth. You'll have access to a modern gym, wellness programs and convenient amenities that support a healthy work-life balance. Situated in the heart of Perth, the office is close to public transport and several parking options.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needed - striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can't do it on our own, so we're focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTQ+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

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Principal Traditional Owner Participation Perth, WA, AU